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GHS Connect #16 Monday 22nd January

Mia's notes

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Thank you very much to everyone who was involved in Year 11 Parents’ Evening and also the KS4 Somali Coffee morning. We also had the ‘counterfeit masculinity’ workshop going on, plus a Geography trip, and of course, all of the mock exams.  Yet another busy GHS week!  Thank you to everyone involved in all of these things.

It is that time of year again when some people decide that they might want to relocate, perhaps work abroad or try something new, and while we never want anyone to leave GHS, it is always really helpful to have an indication of people’s plans, as it does help us to think ahead a little. So, if you are thinking about trying something new, please do let me know. I won’t assume anything, but will just keep it in the back of my mind when considering staffing for next year.

Emma Harper asked me to shout out Fay Hudson for being such an amazing support in the medical room, while we have been ‘one woman down’ with Rav off sick. Thank you and well done to Fay.  This also reminded me to remind everyone to please send me ‘bright spots’ so I can resurrect this idea in Connect once again. If someone has helped you out in any way, please let me know so they can have a special mention.

Finally, thank you to everyone for giving such a warm welcome to Ruth, our new HR Manager and my PA. She has hit the ground running and is already doing an amazing job!
 

Mia

The week ahead

Monday
Normal Day

Tuesday
Department Time 3.15pm - 4.30pm
KS5 TLR Holder Meeting 3.30pm - 4.30pm

Wednesday
Briefing 8.15am in the library.
HODs and HOYs/DHOYs meetings 3.15pm - 4.15pm.
Teacher marking, planning and collaboration directed time 3.15pm - 4.15pm.

Thursday
Normal Day

Friday
Normal Day

Notes
Year 10 Interim 2
Year 12 & 13 BTEC External Exams - to Tues 23/1 (No Study Leave)
Year 13 Mocks (Study Leave)

Learning and teaching: Embedding Excellence

A round up of some of the great learning and teaching strategies we’ve noticed being used around school recently...  

Rewards

I wanted to begin with a massive thank you for all your support with rewarding character since September. We have awarded over 144,000 character points since the start of the academic year and this everyday reward is becoming a staple in our teaching to foster student motivation/engagement. As expected, KS3 students are leading the way and it would be wonderful for our KS4/KS5 students to be rewarded further with our everyday praise of character points. 

As you can see below, responsibility and community are leading with recognition by members of staff. If you identify compassionate actions by any of our young people - please celebrate. Once again, a massive thank you. Please continue using character points and sending postcards as part of your daily/weekly reward route. 

Year Team Rewards 

Pastoral teams have been working incredibly hard to celebrate and reward their cohorts for a variety of reasons. Year 7, who have been tremendous with their character badges, have been on two separate trips - Ten Pin Acton and Sky Cinematic Experience. 

Year 8 have had the pleasure of a cinema afternoon in which over 100 students were celebrated with zero behaviour points and 100% attendance and are also visiting Ten Pin Acton in February. They have also had the pleasure of engaging with their local community - both at Southall Town Hall and with the Southall Urban Garden Project. 

Finally, Year 9 were set a challenge for zero behaviour points within a four week period. Over 100 students were celebrated with a cinema afternoon. Year 11 have been the face of Pizza celebrations, with their 100% attendance being recognised with the Italian staple of rewards. 

Do you want to lead a trip?

If you are interested in taking students on a reward trip for your department, please speak or email me directly. More departmental trips to more educational establishments would be integral for student enrichment and serve as a life memory outside their classroom experience.

Rav

Inclusion Updates 

SEN

I wanted to remind staff that we are now up and running with a full team of TAs.  Please note when exams are taking place, a number of TAs will be used to support up in SEN. Therefore, support in lessons will be reduced. 

CP Updates

It's now less than a month until Safer Internet Day, with its theme of "Inspiring Change? Making a difference, Managing Influence, and Navigating Change Online"

To help schools get ready, the UK Safer Internet Centre has recently released an exclusive collection of short films, designed to captivate and educate children and young people aged 3 to 18 years old. These films serve as starters for meaningful conversations, making them perfect for educators and professionals eager to participate in Safer Internet Day activities across various environments such as schools, youth groups, libraries and beyond.

You can access the films here

Please note there are a number of new categories and subcategories being added to CPOMS.  We will be updating staff and delivering training shortly.  In the meantime, please select the most appropriate category and subcategory as this will enable us to run relevant reports.

Inclusion Heroes

I wanted to say a huge thank you to the Pastoral Support Workers, for their endless support with staff, students and working with families.

Kind regards and thank you for all your continued support.

Gurvinder